AP 829: How to Plan (Including the Upcoming Year) Without Setting Yourself Up for Failure: 4 Levels of Planning for Busy Women || with Megan Sumrell

I spent a decade avoiding planning because I kept failing at it. In this episode, time management expert Megan Sumrell shares why traditional planning systems—built by men, for men—don't work for women carrying the mental load of caregiving. She walks through her four levels of planning and explains why you should start with weekly, not big goals. We cover how to build an "uncertainty budget" for the unexpected, create an annual plan based on your real life, and what to do when everything blows up. If planning has ever left you feeling guilty instead of equipped, this one's for you. Megan's website, Instagram Enter the ⁠10 Year Favorite Things Giveaway!⁠ ⁠Order Sticky Habits⁠ (now available as an audiobook!) Leave a ⁠review⁠ of the book Get the Archive Pass for the ⁠More for Moms Conference⁠ with $10-off code: “LISTENER.” Join the ⁠Supporters Club⁠ to keep About Progress around for good.  Watch this episode on ⁠Youtube⁠  Go to ⁠Quince⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns at https://www.quince.com/monica. Get 15% off your next gift at uncommongoods.com/progress.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most of us can remember when we first started believing our worth depended on how we looked. For Dr. Lexie Kite, it was the summer she turned 13 and wrote in her journal about how much weight she hoped to lose before girls camp. In this clip, Lexie looks back at what that perfectionism cost her: quitting the swim team, holding back from the spotlight as class president, and believing she had to get smaller to be loved. She also shares what she knows now. She’s happier than she’s ever been, and she wishes she could tell her younger self she was going to be okay. If you’re a mom wondering how to stop being a perfectionist about your body, or how to feel happy in the skin you’re in, this is a gentle place to start. Self-compassion isn’t a one-time breakthrough. It grows out of daily habits, like noticing where you’ve been holding back and getting curious about why. That’s a big part of real personal growth and development. Listen to the full episode here: https://www.aboutprogress.com/blog/how-to-overcome-body-obsession-and-come-home-to-your-self Enter the ⁠10 Year Favorite Things Giveaway!⁠ ⁠Order Sticky Habits⁠ (now available as an audiobook!) Leave a ⁠review⁠ of the book Get the Archive Pass for the ⁠More for Moms Conference⁠ with $10-off code: “LISTENER.” Join the ⁠Supporters Club⁠ to keep About Progress around for good.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This monthly series features an episode sharing my recent highs and lows, how my habits are going, a Do Something List update, plus what I'm loving lately and my commitments for the upcoming month. I hope this glimpse into my life, my family, my work, and my own self development encourages you in your own journey. Around here the goal is never perfection, just to keep trying, even if in very simple ways. I think you'll see that with all of the big changes going on for me, taking the smallest of steps has helped to keep me afloat and feeling like myself. As always, I encourage you to get messy, too!  Monica’s DSL for 2026 Enter the ⁠10 Year Favorite Things Giveaway!⁠ ⁠Order Sticky Habits⁠ (now available as an audiobook!) Leave a ⁠review⁠ of the book Get the Archive Pass for the ⁠More for Moms Conference⁠ with $10-off code: “LISTENER.” Join the ⁠Supporters Club⁠ to keep About Progress around for good.  Watch this episode on ⁠Youtube⁠Go to ⁠Quince⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns at https://www.quince.com/monica. Get 15% off your next gift at uncommongoods.com/progress.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode I'm sharing four small habits that kept me from burning out during the most chaotic year of my life — launching my book Sticky Habits, co-hosting a tour in Rome, and running the More for Moms conference all at once. I talk about practicing self-compassion when cynicism crept in, getting ready for bed alongside my kids, doing bare-bones weekly planning, and taking a weekly cookie date with my youngest after speech therapy. I also share a new habit I'm starting, inspired by a question I asked the women on my Italy trip: What of you is missing from your life? Plus, I'm celebrating the podcast's 10-year anniversary and inviting you to send in a voice note for a special listener episode. Enter the 10 Year Favorite Things Giveaway! Order Sticky Habits (now available as an audiobook!) Leave a review of the book Get the Archive Pass for the More for Moms Conference with $10-off code: “LISTENER.” Join the Supporters Club to keep About Progress around for good.  Watch this episode on Youtube Go to Quince for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns at https://www.quince.com/monica. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever burst into tears over spilled milk, or a dinner that didn’t turn out, and wondered where that came from? Taylor Elise Morrison shares how she handles those moments, and it starts with one small pause. In this clip, Taylor talks through what she does when her emotions feel way bigger than the situation. She stops, listens, and lets whatever’s already talking be heard, whether that’s out loud, in a journal, or in a quiet minute to yourself. It’s a simple daily habit, and it builds self-compassion instead of self-criticism. She also gets honest about how boundaries make room for self-care, why “just this one time” can lead to burnout, and what she realized about the hours she was giving to her phone. If you’re looking for self-care for mothers that goes deeper than a bubble bath, or you’re just curious how to feel happy and more like yourself again, this one’s for you. Listen to the full episode here: https://www.aboutprogress.com/blog/ways-to-practice-deep-self-care Order Sticky Habits⁠ (now available as an audiobook!) Leave a ⁠review⁠ of the book Get the Archive Pass for the ⁠More for Moms Conference⁠ with $10-off code: “LISTENER.” Join the ⁠Supporters Club⁠ to keep About Progress around for good.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of Remember When — a special monthly series leading up to our 10th anniversary this November. I take us back through 2025: the year I wrote a book, signed a book deal, hosted my first More for Moms conference, traveled to London on a Pride and Prejudice pilgrimage, announced the Female Foodie tour to Italy with Brooke Eliason, and sat down for some of the most meaningful interviews of my career — including conversations with Katherine May, Sharon McMahon, and Erin H. Moon. I'm sharing what was happening in the world, what was happening behind the mic, the episodes that stayed with me, and the lessons I'm carrying forward. It was an intense, beautiful year — and I'm so glad to look back on it with you. Solo episodes from 2025: Self-Care Saved Our Marriage; GLP-1 Preview; Funk; Recommended Interviews from 2025: Jess Massey, Katherine May, Dr. Sara Reardon, Sharon McMahon, Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, Erin H. Moon, Toni Collier, Israa Nasir, Kolbie Blume Order Sticky Habits⁠ (now available as an audiobook!) Leave a ⁠review⁠ of the book Get the Archive Pass for the ⁠More for Moms Conference⁠ with $10-off code: “LISTENER.” Join the ⁠Supporters Club⁠ to keep About Progress around for good.  Watch this episode on ⁠Youtube⁠  Go to ⁠Quince⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns at https://www.quince.com/monica.  Your next favorite find is waiting at fromrebel.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if you don't have to love your body to feel good in it? In this episode, I sit down with body image and food relationship coach Jordana Edelstein to talk about how to stop waiting for your body to change before you start living well in it. Jordana shares her deeply personal journey through two decades of body shame and disordered eating, and how she now helps women break the cycle of chasing a "smaller body" that was never going to be the answer. We dig into why how you feel about your body and what you eat are inextricably linked, why getting dressed with intention is one of the most powerful tools you have on a bad body image day, and how to quiet the inner mean girl who shows up when you're standing in your closet picking apart everything you see. If you've ever had a bad body image day -- and who hasn't -- this conversation will give you surprisingly simple, practical ways to care for yourself, starting with what you put on tomorrow morning. Jordana's website, Instagram Order Sticky Habits⁠ (now available as an audiobook!) Leave a ⁠review⁠ of the book Get the Archive Pass for the ⁠More for Moms Conference⁠ with $10-off code: “LISTENER.” Join the ⁠Supporters Club⁠ to keep About Progress around for good.  Watch this episode on ⁠Youtube⁠  Go to ⁠Quince⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns at https://www.quince.com/monica. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever feel like everyone else is on a rocket ship while you’re pedaling a tricycle? Crystalee Beck, founder of Comma Copywriters and The Mama Ladder, shares how she stopped comparing herself to other women after a layoff left her family’s finances and marriage at a low point. She decided to choose what she wanted her life to feel like instead of measuring herself against someone else’s pace. If you’ve been wondering how to be happier without having it all figured out, this is a warm reminder that self-compassion is a real tool for personal growth and development, and one of the kindest forms of self-care for mothers. Listen to the full episode here: https://www.aboutprogress.com/blog/owning-your-own-path-and-going-at-your-own-pace Order Sticky Habits (now available as an audiobook!)  Leave a review of the book; Get the Archive Pass for the More for Moms Conference with $10-off code: “LISTENER.” Join the Supporters Club to keep About Progress around for good.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Growth Spurt, I share a moment from narrating my audiobook for Sticky Habits when I spotted small errors that survived countless rounds of editing. Spiraling into self-doubt, I had to remind myself that even masterpieces like Harry Potter and Oppenheimer aren't perfect — and that mistakes aren't just unavoidable, they're a necessary part of the path. The only way to avoid mistakes is by not trying, and that's the biggest mistake of all.  ⁠Order Sticky Habits⁠ (now available as an audiobook!) Leave a ⁠review⁠ of the book Get the Archive Pass for the ⁠More for Moms Conference⁠ with $10-off code: “LISTENER.” Join the ⁠Supporters Club⁠ to keep About Progress around for good.  Watch this episode on ⁠Youtube⁠ Go to Quince for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns at https://www.quince.com/monica. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How many times have you caught yourself scrolling and immediately thought, "Oh no, I did it again. I seriously need more self-control"? I've done this too. We all do. But what if scrolling isn't proof that you lack discipline? In this episode, I talk with Ruby Ryba, author of How to Stop Scrolling, about a much more compassionate way to use our phones less. Instead of shaming ourselves or swearing off our phones entirely, Ruby teaches us to get curious about what our scrolling is really giving us, design our lives so our phones have less power over us, and fill that reclaimed space with things that actually meet our needs. Because the goal isn't just to spend less time on your phone—it's to spend more time actually living the life you choose. Ruby's website, book Order Sticky Habits (now available as an audiobook!) Leave a review of the book Get the Archive Pass for the More for Moms Conference with $10-off code: “LISTENER.” Join the Supporters Club to keep About Progress around for good.  Watch this episode on Youtube Complementary episodes: The Practice of Attention: How to Stop Scrolling in a Distracted World, with Cody Cook-Parrott; How Screens Are Changing Childhood, with Catherine Price Go to Quince for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns at https://www.quince.com/monica. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices